The Stray of Ba Sing Se
by Yato-is-Best-Girl
Summary: Moro has lived in the slums of the Lower Ring her entire life, stealing and pickpocketing to feed herself as well as her mother. She never thought she'd be anything other than a petty thief and a street rat, but everything became different and confusing and complicated when she met Lee. This war is not her problem, but destiny is a funny thing. Read & Review! ;)
1. Undesirables of the Lower Ring

**THE STRAY OF BA SING SE**

**Chapter 1: Undesirables of the Lower Ring**

The marketplaces of Ba Sing Se were some of the best in the world; traders and merchants came from all corners of the Earth Kingdom to cash in on the hustle and bustle each ring had to offer. Most shot for the Upper Ring and its bushy-tailed aristocracy, but a Middle or Lower Ring merchant would never be uncomfortable either.

Busy streets and lively people were a typical sight to see, as well as backwards deals and picked pockets if you knew what to look for. The sun was high in the sky as fruit vendor caught sight of a trio of children sniffing about near his stand. With a huff and a puff, he grabbed a broom and shoed them off, a trail of giggles left in their wake.

Before his attention turned back to his fruit, a girl shuffled by and took an apple without paying.

"Hey!" he barked, snatching the apple back and jamming a finger into her chest. "You have to pay for things around here missy."

Her two-toned blue and yellow eyes blinked before she blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, my siblings ran off that way, so I wasn't even thinking," she dug a gold piece from her pocket and placed it in the vendor's hand before taking the apple back. "Thank you, sir!"

She made off down the street before he could reply. He sighed, "Darn kids today…"

He pocketed the gold piece she gave him when he noticed something, or rather something _missing_ from his pocket. The vendor checked his other pocket, then patted his body all over trying to find his bag of gold pieces from the day's profits, only to come up empty.

"Th-thief… Thief! That girl stole my money!"

The fruit vendor could cry and plead all he wanted, but the girl was already long gone.

* * *

Moro didn't consider herself a thief, at least not artistically. It was more of an odd job rather than an uncontrollable urge. She was no klepto, but people need to eat in Ba Sing Se, and unless you live in the Upper or Middle Rings, food doesn't come easy.

The stiff fruit vendor had made a good amount of cash; about twenty gold pieces, which around these parts was enough food for the next month. She took a bite out of the apple she'd stolen, smirking down at her handful of gold pieces before she was promptly tackled to the ground.

If it weren't for the squirming and giggling, Moro would've assumed she was caught by marketplace guards, but it was just a trio of kids she had the misfortune of knowing.

"Moro Moro Moro! Didja get us anything from the market?"

"Yeah! We're _starving_!"

Yuu was a scrappy kid with soot smeared across his nose, he and his little brother Mink lived in the same neighborhood as Moro and her mom, and were always hassling her to teach them how to steal even though both their parents had good-paying jobs.

"And we're bored! _Soooo_ bored!"

On the other hand, Ashi was a rather bratty girl from the Upper Ring that always snuck away from her parents to hang out with Yuu, Mink, and Moro. Her silk hanfu was threaded with gold and the cuffs that held her pigtails in place were set with chunks of jade, but she could've been covered head to toe in mud and grime and the little girl wouldn't have noticed, she'd scale those walls over and over again to see her friends.

Even though she stuck up her little nose whenever Moro teased her about her baby-crush on Yuu.

She grabbed Yuu and Ashi by the scruff of their clothes, dragging them out of the alley Moro was hiding in, Mink following with a small hand holding on to her pants. She shot a look to a pair of men, one holding a handful of gold and the other holding an ornate sword, the pair shooting a look right back at her before continuing with their shady business.

"How many times have I told you guys not to come around here?" she hissed at them, roughly ruffling Yuu's hair and pulling Ashi's cheeks. "It's dangerous and you shouldn't be playing around back here, do I need to start chasing you off with a stick, you brats?!"

Ashi rubbed her sore cheeks and Yuu tried to rearrange his messy hair into some semblance of tidy. They smirked up at her, not intimidated at all, and Moro tried her hardest to maintain her glare, but she ended up blowing out defeated sigh before reaching behind her back with a smirk of her own.

"Of course I brought you rats something," handfuls of green genomite rock candy were presented to them, and their eyes simultaneously lit up like stars. She shot them a wink before they snatched up the candy, shoving it into their mouths and pockets. "Alright, now scatter before you rodents get me caught."

She ruffled their heads some more as they scampered off, Ashi's hand held firmly in Yuu's as the trio disappeared into the busy streets.

She would have gone right back to the market if someone's bamboo cane hadn't come down on her head with a vicious _smack!_ Moro let out a pained yowl, dropping to her knees and rubbing her now throbbing head.

"You were _sloppy_ today!" the hag Mrs. Linh crowed.

A huff left Moro's pursed lips as she planted her palms in the dirt, her legs still in a crouch near the ground. "Was not! That vendor didn't realize he'd been gypped until I was long gone!"

Mrs. Linh tried to use her cane to smack the younger girl's thieving hands, but she was quicker, practically pouncing away and crossing her arms in a firm pout.

"He shouldn't _realize_ anything, and picking the same schmuck three times in a row will get you caught! _Sloppy!_" instead of slapping her with her cane again Mrs. Linh promptly flicked Moro right between her multicolored eyes.

"Ow!"

While she rubbed her forehead she failed to notice her pouch of _earned_ coins now resting in the old crow's hand instead of her pocket.

"Honestly, it's like I've taught you nothing child!"

Moro grasped at her empty pockets, gaping at the old woman who had mastered thievery long before she was born. Mrs. Linh helped herself to three gold pieces, rubbing them between her long, claw-like nails before tossing the pouch back to Moro. She caught it with ease and gave the old woman a disgruntled look.

Linh was a tricky old hag, but she was the closest thing to a grandmother Moro had ever gotten.

The graying woman pulled a wrapped parcel from her yukata, patting it free of dust before handing it to her. "Take this to your mother, and so help me if you're sloppy again I'll have your behind for my mantle!" she smacked Moro's behind with her cane for good measure.

She bit her lip and winced, her head already forming bruises; she didn't need any more. "Alright! Geez…" Moro rubbed her now sore butt, smoothing out her mud-colored pants.

Tucking the parcel safely in her shirt, Moro grabbed the top of a tall delivery crate and began her climb upward. Getting around the Lower Ring was easier if you jumped across rooftops; you could avoid losing your wallet that way, or in her case she could avoid being spotted by her most recent victims.

Getting back home involved crossing over most of the market before coming to the wall that divided the Lower and Middle Rings, the guards knew she'd never cross over, so they never reacted when she strolled along the top of the wall like a carefree cat.

Pressed nearly right up against the dividing wall was the apartment Moro shared with her mother; it was cramped and falling apart but it was home, and it kept them out of the cold and off the streets, which her mother needed.

Esra had been praised as one of the most beautiful women in the city since Moro was little, but she was almost always tired or ill, resting or completely bedridden sometimes for days without end. Moro couldn't find much work being poor and filthy, and she _refused _to join the Dai Li even if she starved, so she begged Mrs. Linh to teach her how to steal. She did it to take care of Esra; everything she did she did for her mother.

"You're back early, I thought you'd be at the market all day." Esra voiced, trying to ease her way out of bed as her long dark braid spilled over her shoulder.

Moro placed Mrs. Linh's parcel on the table by the bed, unwrapping it to reveal a bento full of meat and rice along with a small vile of tea leaves.

She shrugged, not facing her mother as she retrieved the chopsticks from the drawer. "The market was pretty dead today so they sent me home early," it was a common lie that Moro helped fix roofs for stands at the market; if Esra knew what her daughter was really doing she'd be upset, and she didn't need the overexertion.

Esra smiled, shakily feeding herself small bites of Mrs. Linh's bento. Moro took the vile of special leaves and took them over the stove. Their only teapot was rusty and misshapen but how else would Moro have gotten such a good deal on it? It worked just fine, but the same couldn't be said for their spark-rocks.

She tried to get a spark, but the harder she tried the less results she got. Esra was still eating, and thinking her mother wasn't looking, Moro pressed the tip of her finger into the bed of coals on the stove.

Her finger glowed like a fresh ember, and the coals soon caught a flame big enough for her to work with. She put the pot over the flame and quickly patted her hands over her pants, hoping Esra didn't see.

"_Moro?"_

But she was rarely so lucky.

She gave her mom an innocent look, but Esra looked terrified, like all the light in her world had disappeared in an instant. Her mother quickly got out of bed and grasped her daughter's hands tightly, as though if she squeezed hard enough she couldn't firebend anymore.

"You _can't _firebend, _ever!_ Not even at home, what if somebody saw?!" Moro winced under her mom's wet gaze, not having the strength to tell her that it was getting harder to keep her bending hidden.

"Mom…"

"_No!"_ she squeezed harder, as if holding on to something precious. "If _anyone_ finds out the Dai Li will come here and they'll take you away from me, you have to promise me you won't bend!"

It was easier to hide when she was a little kid, creating candle-sized flames with her fingers only after her mother had been long asleep, but every day she got older it was becoming harder and harder to just _not bend._ Every emotion Moro felt was like throwing fuel on an already uncontrollable flame; anger, sadness, happiness, all triggered a heat in her palms and a thrill in her belly.

With every passing sunrise it felt more and more _wrong_ to not firebend, which made the truth of her mom's words even more terrifying.

Earthbenders tended to disappear from the Lower Ring without a trace, and the Dai Li were _always _involved, thinking about what they would do to a _firebender_ had woken Moro from more than a few nightmares.

Esra was crying now, broken sobs leaving her weakened body, and Moro wrapped her arms around her mother, a heaviness in her chest. "It's okay mom… I promise I won't bend; no one has to know."

Her mom held her tight, afraid to let go, but crying had left her exhausted, and she fell asleep in her daughter's arms. Moro put her back to bed and brushed her mom's hair from her shadowed eyes, shame pooling in her gut at having been born a firebender rather than _anything else._

She grabbed a worn out Pai-Sho board from under the bed, tucking it into her bag before leaving the apartment again, the sun shining on her face, and the warmth bringing back her smile.

* * *

It was just _sad_ how bad at Pai-Sho some people could be.

People like the three idiots Moro was currently playing against; they had foolishly bet everything they had on them, even the clothes on their backs; that confident they could beat her, and now they sat nearly naked as the teenage girl counted her cash winnings.

"Come on Moro! We weren't even being serious when we made that bet! Can't you go easy on us?!" Idiot number 1, or Takashi, depending on who you asked, begged.

Idiot number 2, Koga, chimed in. "Yeah! I mean can we at least have our pants?!" his raging blush as he struggled to cover himself was payment enough, but Moro ignored them anyway.

She scoffed, not looking up from the money she was still counting, "Not my fault you guys suck at this game, and by the way, I _was_ going easy on you!" she stuck her tongue out and winked, shoving her new clothes into her bag while they scampered off with their tails between their legs.

Moro started to reset the pieces on her board when someone sat down across from her.

She stopped shuffling pieces when he didn't say anything, and when she looked up at him his amber eyes only crinkled at the corners with his kind, old smile.

"Are you still playing? I'd love a good game to pass the time."

Moro didn't recognize him, but he seemed so warm and friendly, not like any of the other crooks she knew. Even still, she wasn't going to fall into his possible trap just because he _looked_ kind.

He seemed to have sensed her hesitation, reaching into the sleeve of his robe and pulling out a handful of gold pieces that practically _glittered _in the midday sun. Moro's fingers twitched as she stared; he must have been a wealthy visitor or at least a happy merchant to be sporting that kind of cash.

"A game of Pai Sho is just what the doctor ordered, and please don't fret miss; I'll make it worth your time."

Something was hiding behind his warm gaze, but Moro couldn't figure out what it was… but it felt… familiar, even though she knew she'd never seen this man before. She blinked her odd-colored eyes up at his almost blazing amber ones, and smiled.

She cracked her knuckles, "Okay, let's play." He dropped the gold into her awaiting palm, "But don't think because you're an old man I'll go easy on you." She quipped, sticking her tongue out.

His laugh was as warm and jovial as his smile. "Then don't think I'll do the same because you're a beautiful young lady!"

Moro smirked, noticing a spark in his eyes as she finished resetting the board.

"You can have the first move." She placed the small pile of gold off to the side perfectly between them, signaling the stakes of the game.

"So polite." He hummed, studying the board for a moment before moving his red chrysanthemum piece diagonally five spaces forward. Moro gave him a wink and their game began.

She had to admit, he was _really _good, but she had played against a lot of _really good_ players before and none of them had ever beaten her. Sure she cheated _sometimes_, but half the rounds she played were honest ones.

For a good while the two were evenly matched, their pieces locked in a dance controlled by the board, and as Moro moved her wheel piece sideways, pushing her white dragon piece to the center of the board, she took pride in the surprised look on the old man's face.

She crossed her arms behind her head, "I told you I wouldn't go easy Gramps,"

"I'd expect nothing less than your best."

The move he made next had a domino effect; he moved his rock piece only one space forward, that pushed his wheel to the side, and his humble white lotus tile to the dead center of the board. The star of red flowers that bloomed from the board made Moro's jaw drop. She had no idea how she could have missed him strategically forming a perfect harmony pattern of red flower tiles, but he had.

He'd beaten her.

"Holy crap…"

The old man stood up, completely neglecting the gold he'd just won. "That was fun, I look forward to playing with you again young lady."

He smiled and began to walk away when Moro grabbed the handful of money, holding it out to him. "Hey wait! I lost… don't you want your money?"

The warmth in his eyes was so genuine, you'd think he was speaking to his own child. He took Moro's hand and enclosed the gold in her hand for her, giving it an affectionate pat before letting go. "You can't put a price on a good game of pai-sho, but I think this should be enough to buy myself a rematch someday."

She just stared at him, blue and yellow searching deep amber for some kind of explanation; no one in the Lower Ring was honest of genuine, kind or warm, at least not for long. So to see such generosity from a random old man was something Moro had _never_ seen before. Heck, the last old man she'd played pai-sho with had spat in her face for beating him in five moves.

The gold in her hand shone again when she opened her palm. She looked at the money, then back at the old man.

"Who are you?"

He chuckled, a hand on his protruding belly. "A lover of the game, and a pretty girl to play with never hurts either!" he laughed at his own joke and Moro caught herself cracking a smile of her own. "But you can call me Mushi,"

There was an unspoken request for her name in return.

She shoved the money in her pocket and threw up a peach sign.

"I'm Moro!"

They smiled at each other again, "I hope to see you again Moro." He tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe before walking off back into the crowd of the Lower Ring.

"Yeah… you too… Mushi."

* * *

**With Avatar now on Netflix i'll be working on this fanfic instead of Inaudible Echo for a while, this is a rewrite of chapter one and chapter two should be up sunday so stay tuned! This will be a Zuko x OC story but I've noticed most of those kind of crap all over Mai, and I loooove Mai, possibly more than I love Zuko. So there will be no Mai-hating in this fic, and you're probably thinking "Wouldn't Mai be jealous of Moro being with Zuko?" and my answer is that she simply won't have romantic feelings for Zuko here, I always wanted them to have a funny sassy friends dynamic anyway, like Ben and April from Parks and Rec. But i'm rambling, also I have no idea how Pai sho is actually played so I just made some stuff up. Stay tuned! Ciao!**


	2. Stray Cat

**Chapter 2: Stray Cat**

The gold glinted in the sun each time Moro tossed it in her palm. She walked down the road, crunching on a piece of genomite while thinking about what to do with her spare cash. Old Man Mushi was an odd cat, but she wasn't about to complain about getting paid for a _good honest game_ of pai-sho. Maybe if she was lucky he'd be serious about a rematch.

"Maybe Pao's place is still open…" she though out loud.

Pao ran a tea shop between a butcher and a pub, that combined with his decent but not amazing tea skills didn't bring him a lot of honest business, but he didn't call the guards when she walked in so Moro would always buy his tea.

"_Hey! You there, girl! Stop!_" she shot up when she saw the prissy fruit vendor from earlier, accompanied by two guards with _really_ big swords on their belts.

They were looking right at her.

"That's her! She stole all my money!" the vendor squawked.

_Crap._

The guards started stalking towards her, swords drawn, meaning business.

Moro gave them a smile before turning on her heel and running with every ounce of energy she had. The shouts of her pursuers went ignored as she turned a corner and climbed up to the rooftops again using the laundry lines.

She was glad she didn't stop running, because the guards had followed her up to the roofs. They were smart, but she knew the streets better than they did, so when she jumped from a roof into a nearby window and they tried to follow, they came up empty. Why? Because she had jumped to the window across the street.

A quartet of basket-weavers let out startled screams at her sudden presence, but Moro flicked a gold piece into the lap of the eldest woman there, blowing her a kiss and running out the front door.

That put her just outside of Pao's place, ironically enough, but she still heard shouting from the main road. She quickly ran inside and jumped over the counter, her mind racing too fast to notice the server boy flinch and get out of the way.

Moro scooched herself into the far corner behind the counter, positive she was out of sight despite the server boy staring at her like she was a rabid Hogmonkey that had also grown a second head.

She glanced up at him, not recognizing his face from Pao's before. His hair was short but spikey like he was growing it out, and was sporting a nasty looking burn scar over his left eye and most of that half of his face. They stared at each other for a few moments before Moro shot him a nervous smile, only to be met with a heavily confused scowl.

Heavy boots stomped into the shop and Moro crouched down even lower to the ground. "You there! Boy!" a guard barked. "A thief came through here, she's a young girl with different colored eyes, have you seen here?!"

His eyes briefly flicked back down to her; she had a finger pressed desperately against her lips, "_Please?"_ she whispered, inaudible to the guards.

"She ran out the back."

The server boy stepped in front of her, the guards not seeing her as they shuffled out the back door. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding when they were finally gone, peaking over the counter to make sure the coast was clear before she climbed back over the counter, letting her legs dangle off the edge.

"Thanks for that, you really saved my butt."

Maybe shooting finger-guns towards him wasn't the right call, because her thanks were met with a wicked glare. "Whatever…" was the only reply she got before he went back to putting clean teacups away.

Climbing down, she propped her chin on her elbows, not satisfied with that answer. "You new to the city?"

Again, she was met with a glare, this one harder and fierier, like it was taking all of his effort not to yell.

"I've never seen you before, so you've got to be…"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" he growled, not hiding the annoyance plastered across his face.

Moro arched an eyebrow; this guy was a real ray of sunshine wasn't he? However, the harder he glared the more she wanted to laugh. Not at him, or to be mean, she mostly wanted to laugh because that would annoy him more. Moro weirdly wanted that. She stuck her tongue out at him while his back was turned,

"So mean… in that case I'll have a cup of oolong please!" she pushed a gold piece towards him, her smirk never fading even as his eye twitched with untapped anger.

As mad as he looked, he took the gold anyway and reached for a teapot on the stove behind him. Within seconds she wrapped her hands around a steaming cup of tea, not letting her smirk fall or her eyes turn away from him. She knew it irritated him, which made her want to annoy him even more.

"I'm surprised you wanted to work here, Pao isn't really known for having the best tea in town…" if Pao heard her say that he'd kick her out with a boot to the butt without an ounce of guilt. She took a sip and was genuinely surprised by how good it was.

He scoffed, "I didn't _want to_, it was my uncle's idea."

Almost on que, a familiar shapely old man came out from the back room. "I wish those guards had stayed for some tea."

Moro brightened instantly, "Hey! It's you! Good to see you again Gramps," the sourpuss with the spikey hair was ignored as Old Man Mushi gave her a genuine smile.

"Ah, Moro, eager for that rematch are we?" he chuckled, a hand on his stomach.

She smirked, leaning over the counter. "I've never lost a game of pai-sho before you came along, you know that?"

"You two have met?"

Sourpuss had his arms crossed and another scowl where his face used to be, and Moro briefly wondered if it was tiresome being so tightly wound all the time. Mushi placed a hand on his shoulder, "This young lady treated me to a lovely game earlier today, Moro, you haven't had the pleasure of meeting my nephew."

His eyes just narrowed in her direction, so like a mature adult she stuck her tongue out at him, but she's not without her manners, so she held her hand out for him to shake.

"Moro." When he gave her hand a disgusted glance she decided to further rub dirt in his eye, metaphorically that is. "You shake it." Adding insult to injury, she waved her arm up and down as if her hand was being shook.

He sneered and turned away, back to work to avoid talking to her most likely, but she was in too deep now. Without missing a beat, the passport from the back pocket of his robe was suddenly in her hand. No one had even seen her reach for him, but it was her specialty.

"Says here, your name is Lee." His spine straightened as he spun around to see her casually flipping through his passport. He furiously patted his pockets, only to indeed find them empty. "Oh! And you're a nonbender, like me!"

The sourpuss, Lee, practically threw himself over the counter, making a grab for his passport but being easily evaded by the odd-eyed girl. "Give that back!" after a few failed swipes she finally held it out for him to snatch and shove back in his pocket, his glare angrier than before, somehow. "You've had your tea, just get out!"

He actually chased her away from the counter, which made her laugh as she evaded him some more. Messing with someone hadn't been this fun in a while, Lee was so quick to anger that it was hilarious to find reactions from different buttons she could push.

"Fine, I'll just come back tomorrow." Lee actually _growled_, which made a cattish smirk bloom on her face. Moro gave Mushi a friendly wave, "See you Gramps," and some finger guns to the sourpuss, "Lee."

He threw a hand up, not to say goodbye but to dismiss her angrily as he stomped to the back room. Mushi watched him go and gave her a shrug, she laughed and left the shop.

Moro didn't like to befriend new locals very often, as you never wanted to make friends out of possible targets, but maybe for Grampa Mushi and Sourpuss Lee she'd make an exception. Something about them felt familiar; a warmth even in the boy's scowl that she'd never felt before.

* * *

A few days after that encounter Moro found herself back at Pao's, or rather, on Pao's roof waiting for Lee to come out so she could mess with him some more. She didn't even try to hide her smirk as she sat crouched like a cat waiting for the right moment to pounce.

But then, almost suddenly, Moro felt like someone was watching her.

No one was really around save for a few shopkeepers setting up for the day, but none of them had noticed her. Just then something shone in her eye, she blinked and tried to block whatever was reflecting it, but spotted someone out of the corner of her eye.

It was a boy, tall, with a wheat straw propped between his lips as he twirled a knife between his fingers. That must have been what was bouncing light back into her eyes. He wasn't by any means out of the ordinary for the Lower Ring, but the glare on his face said he was otherwise. It wasn't like Lee's annoyed scowl, no, this guy looked like the very sight of her made him boil over with pure unfiltered hatred.

Moro crouched down lower to the roof, suddenly wary.

_Does he… know about me?_

The guy sneered at her, grinding the straw in his teeth before turning and disappearing behind a building.

She sighed, tension leaving her body now that he was gone. _What a weirdo…_

The creepy stranger was soon forgotten as she spotted Lee coming out the back door of the tea shop, something tucked tight against his side as he approached the dumpster.

Not one to waste an opportunity, Moro pounced from the roof and tackled him to the ground, the poor guy releasing a cross between a grunt and a squeak as his back hit the pavement. His golden eyes were blown wide and he was gasping for air as he tried to process the attack from above as Moro sat on top of him laughing her head off.

"You should have seen your face!" she held her stomach while he just stared at her like she was crazy. The thing he'd been trying to hide was flung out of his hands when he fell, and the blue color caught Moro's attention. It was a mask. "Hey, what's this?"

Just as Lee regained his bearings, she was already up with the mask in her hands. "Hey!" he barked, swiping for it, but she dodged and jumped on top of a delivery crate out of his reach.

She turned the mask over in her hands, tracing the fangs and horns on the blue demon's ivory face. What would anyone want with an ugly thing like that? Then again, she didn't know Lee very well yet, maybe he was an actor or something?

"Spooky… where'd you snag this?" she turned back to him, but he had climbed up when she wasn't looking, snatching the mask back and shoving her face away.

"None of your business!" he snapped, "Don't you have other people you should be bothering?!"

He climbed down from the crate, leaving her on top. She rolled onto her stomach, smirking down at him as he glared back. "Yeah, but nothing's as fun as hanging out with you, Sourpuss."

She stuck her tongue out, taking pride in the way he clenched his fists and looked like he was desperately trying not to lose his cool.

"That's not my name, and we're not _hanging out_ because we are _not _friends!" he got up in her face, growling to emphasize his point, but Moro just poked him in the crease between his eyebrows.

"Not yet."

Gold locked with blue and yellow, Moro not cracking under his anger and Lee looking at her like he was incredibly frustrated from trying to figure her out.

He scoffed, "You don't know anything about me."

She scoffed right back, "That's the point of being friends dummy." Moro gave his arm a shove, laughing when he pushed her away, "I gotta go anyway… too many people that need to be bothered today." She smirked when he rolled his eyes.

"Great, maybe then you won't bother me." He clipped, already picking up the mask and going back inside.

Moro smiled, keeping to herself that she would come back tomorrow. It was getting close to midday, so she might as well set up her pai-sho board at the market before it got too crowded. She ducked into an alley that would get her home quicker to grab her board, when someone grabbed her by the arm and slammed her against a wall, pinning her there with their entire body weight.

It was the weirdo that was watching her earlier, his eyes not only blazing with fury but white and deranged up close.

"You should stay away from them, they're dangerous!" he kept his voice low, Moro trying to yank her arm out of his hold, but he held tight.

She quickly glanced to her left, freedom in the form of the market street only a few feet away. "W-what?" maybe keeping him talking would give her an opening to leave.

He grabbed her other arm, effectively trapping her. "The boy and the old man! They're _firebenders!_ They would kill you if given the chance, I'm telling you for your own safety!"

Moro's eyes widened, now feeling much more scared. Lee and Mushi? Firebenders? They were…

_Like me?_

"_Jet!"_

A voice called out and the guy briefly looked away from her, giving her the opening she was looking for. She grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and promptly threw it into his eyes, pushing him down as hard as she could and running towards the market street while he struggled.

Moro didn't stop running until she was two streets away from the alley, lungs burnings and legs trembling.

She'd never felt so afraid, wrapping her arms around herself as she leaned against a wall.

_Who was that guy?!_

He wasn't with the Dai Li, or was he? Were they imploring more subtly ways to hunt down benders in the Lower Ring? Was that why she'd never seen that guy before? What was his name… Jet?

Her hands couldn't stop shaking, no matter how hard she clenched her fists.

Lee and Old Man Mushi… were they really firebenders?

* * *

**OOOOOh things are heating up! Pun intended! And no, Jet doesn't know Moro is a firebender, but with how much she's been conditioned to fear anyone even suspecting she can firebend you can't blame her for being paranoid. She hears firebender and she runs. This will also not be the only time Moro runs into Jet so stay tuned! Ciao!**


	3. A Sword and A Teapot

**Chapter 3: A Sword and a Teapot**

Moro hadn't touched her cup of jasmine tea for hours, the steam billowing upwards until the tea cooled, now and forgotten as she stared at the two behind the work counter. Pao's place had gotten significantly busier since Mushi and Lee arrived, the old man's skills with tea unmatched by anyone in the Lower Ring, and the shop was now teeming with business. Honestly, Moro should be happy her new friends were doing so well, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

The boy that had pinned her to a wall and screamed in her face was obviously cracked in the head, but his words struck a nerve in her that she couldn't stop thinking about.

_They can't be firebenders… can they? They're refugees so they might not even be from the Earth Kingdom… but what would two firebenders be doing fleeing their country anyway? It doesn't make any sense but…_

Small things started to catch her attention; the way Lee would get overly frustrated when the spark rocks wouldn't work, or how Mushi had no trouble touching the bellies of hot teapots that would otherwise burn a normal person's hands. Then there was Lee's burn scar, and sure, tons of people had scars from all sorts of things, heck, Moro probably had at least two on each arm and leg, but there was also the fact that both Old Man Mushi and Lee had almost molten amber eyes. Lee's like liquid gold and Mushi's like forged copper, you didn't see those colors around most of the Earth Kingdom.

_Could they really be like me? Hiding?_

* * *

Iroh had always said that Ba Sing Se had the most beautiful women in the world, and their new friend Moro was no exception. She was a delightful girl whose odd eye color and free-running personality made her quite the unique beauty, so he couldn't blame his nephew for not knowing how to properly speak to her.

The boy was currently pouring tea, unaware of how Moro sat nearby staring at him. "Such a polite young lady, and very pretty." He waggled his eyebrows, Zuko's back to him but a groan escaping him anyway. He knew exactly who his uncle was talking about.

"She's annoying," he barked, "We talked _once_ and now she's following us around like a stray cat!"

Iroh shrugged, filling a tray with teacups, "Those who extend a friendly hand aren't always hiding a knife in the other, nephew."

"I don't need friends." He snapped back in his typical frowning fashion.

Iroh just shrugged, bringing more tea to the lovely customers in the shop, but noticing Moro haven't even have touched her own cup. She just kept staring at the table or at Zuko in particular, a thoughtful yet troubled look on her face.

How peculiar.

"Friendship finds us whether we're looking for it or not, but _I'm _not the one always thinking about a girl I apparently _don't like_." He didn't give his nephew the chance to deny it, though his angry growl was evidence enough of that.

Perhaps Zuko was right and nothing would come of his and Moro's unconventional friendship, but even still something about the young girl that gave him a good feeling; something was familiar about her that he couldn't place. The shape of her face, the confidence in her stride, even the small upturn of her eyes that made it seem like she was always smiling, all made him feel as though he'd seen her before.

"This is the best tea in the city!" one of Pao's patrons praised, making the old man blush.

"The secret ingredient is love," he smiled, spotting Moro seated on the opposite side of the shop, far away from all the guards and Dai Li officers. Iroh walked towards her, placing a new hot cup of jasmine tea in front of her, but the girl seemed so lost in thought that she didn't even notice his presence. "Tea is said to not only heal the body, but the mind as well, everything alright?"

She took the cup, smiling as it warmed her hands, "Yeah, just thinking…"

Iroh watched her drum her fingers against the table, her eyes trained on them like they were the most perplexing thing in the world. He placed a hand on her shoulder, her blue and yellow eyes looking up at him, blinking like a curious cat, trying to figure something out. He hadn't known her very long, but he could tell she was a good person, despite how often she ran away from authorities.

The corners of her mouth turned downward, "Are you…"

"I'm tired of waiting! Those two are _firebenders!_"

Iroh was quite used to the look of pure fear, but was surprised to find Moro not afraid _of him_, but rather everyone around her. She looked in that moment like she wanted nothing more than to disappear or be anywhere else at the mere mention of firebenders. Her fingers turned white around the teacup, and Iroh stepped in front of her instinctively.

The young man who had accused them so brazenly swung his swords threateningly towards them, not attacking, but barely holding back. "I know they're firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!"

The guards he was yelling towards only looked at each other, confusion displayed on their features. "He works in a tea shop." One said.

The boy growled like a wolf defending his territory. "He's a firebender! They _all_ are! I'm telling you!"

Iroh heard the smallest gasp escape Moro's lips, she inched herself further behind him away from the officer's eyes, as though she were more afraid of them than the clearly unwell boy before them. The old man did not move, shielding her from the younger man's accusations.

The Dai Li officers rose, hands hovering over their own swords. "Drop your swords boy." He said steadily, as though approaching a snake taught and ready to strike. "Nice and easy."

He ignored them, twirling his blades and pointing them towards Iroh and Zuko, bloodlust shining in his dark eyes. "You'll have to defend yourself, come on… show me what you can do!" he was obviously trying to bait them, and Iroh was not so naïve, but he could not always say the same of his nephew.

Zuko, still safely under the guise of Lee, quickly grabbed the sword from one of the guards' belt. "You want a show?!" he separated the blades, a sword gripped tightly in each hand as the boys stared each other down, both of them daring the other to attack first. "I'll _give_ you a show!"

A beat of silence passed between them, before the boy lunged for Zuko, but he quickly hooked his foot around the leg of a table and blocked the other boy's path, his hook-edged swords plunging into the wood rather than him. The young man growled loudly, plunging his sword deeper into the table, splitting it in half as he charged again.

Zuko blocked him with his own swords, swiping at his feet, but the boy flipped backwards to avoid him. They swung and blocked and parried each strike and slash the other dealt them, the duo locked in a dance of death that could only end badly.

People scattered, desperate to get out of their way as the unwell boy threw another table towards his nephew, it slammed him against the wall forming cracks in the stone. The breath knocked out of him, Zuko didn't have enough time to block the other boy's oncoming attack, his legs slamming into his stomach and knocking him through the wall into the street with a vicious crash.

Iroh wasn't quick enough to stop Moro from breaking off a table leg and running out after his nephew.

"You must be getting tired… why not firebend at me?!" the boy roared, his eyes wild with fury. The old man stepped out, holding his hands up and speaking softly to the young boy.

"Please son, you're confused… you don't know what you're doing." He pleaded.

Zuko tried to stand, still weakened from being thrown through a wall, but was barely to his feet as the boy stalked towards him, raising his swords over his head to bring them down on the other boy. Zuko would have blocked him, but the other boy was stopped when almost out of nowhere Moro blocked his sword with a severed table leg.

She grunted and hissed as he snarled and swung at her, but she ducked, coming back up to hit him square in the face with the table leg, knocking him back long enough for Zuko to get up and run back into his fight. "Get out of my way!" he barked at her, and she seemed happy to oblige, stepping back out of the way.

The boy wiped blood from his lip, glaring at them both with unbridled hatred. "Protecting your accomplice I see… bet you wish he'd help you out with a fire blast huh?"

Moro and Zuko both growled, him raising his swords to stand between her and their attacker. "_You're_ the one who needs help!" he arched his sword and swung it down, the boy avoiding getting permanently blinded by only an inch, but Moro was just as quick, ducking down again to slam her weapon against the boy's legs. He howled in pain and dropped to his knees, trying still to slice at the girl but she darted away.

He pointed his sword at the pair accusingly, "The Fire Nation is trying to silence me!" he cried to the newly formed crowd of onlookers, "It'll _never_ happen!"

Seemingly in cinque, Zuko and Moro came at him from both sides, but since her makeshift club was only wood, the boy easily broke the table leg in half, rendering her only defense against him useless. Zuko locked him in a parry, distracting him hopefully long enough for the girl to make her getaway, but as she ran away, the boy broke free of their standoff and hooked one of his curved swords around her ankle.

He yanked as hard as he could, his blade cutting into her skin with an ugly slice as she fell into the dirt with a cry. The boy then pulled her back, her nails digging into the ground but only leaving claw marks as she was dragged beneath him.

"Now you can't run away!" he shouted, twirling his sword and bringing it down to stab into her chest.

"_Moro!"_ Zuko acted without thinking, dropping his swords and tackling the boy off of her.

They wrestled in the dirt, Zuko throwing a punch and landing it right in his cheek, adding a bruise to go with the split lip Moro gave him. The boy scratched at his eyes, flipping them over and gripping his remaining sword with white knuckles. He pressed it into Zuko's neck with the intent to slit his throat.

"Lee!" he heard Moro's voice, losing sight of her for only a moment before she returned, holding a teapot?

The shattering of porcelain echoed through the crowd as the odd-eyed girl smashed one of Pao's teapots over the rampaging boy's head.

He twitched before collapsing next to Zuko, knocked out, Moro clutching the bamboo handle of the ruined teapot like a vice. The two stared at each other, panting, not saying anything until more Dai Li guards showed up.

"Drop your weapons!" like a switch was flipped Moro dropped the teapot handle, and Zuko shakily got to his feet brushing the dust off his robe. The boy on the ground then groaned, holding the back of his head as he slowly came back to his senses. "What happened here?" the guard demanded, Moro's obvious flinch not going unnoticed by Zuko.

"This poor boy is confused," Iroh explained, "My nephew and I are simple refugees and this young lady is our kind neighbor."

She didn't meet the officers' eyes, staring down at her feet and trying to be as still as possible. It almost looked like she was trying to be invisible, a vast difference from the warm and talkative girl Zuko had met a few days ago.

Was she… _afraid_ of the Dai Li?

Pao stormed out of his shop squawking like an angry turtleduck. "This young man wrecked my shop and assaulted my employees and one of my customers!"

"It's true sir!" the officer from earlier spoke up. "We saw it all, this kid attacked the finest tea-maker in the city!"

Iroh blushed, suddenly bashful. "Oh, that's very sweet." He chuckled.

The guards exchanged a nod before grabbing the boy by his arms and attempting to drag him away. It must have been bad timing or maybe just karma, but the boy woke from his concussed daze to find himself being arrested.

"No!" he yelled, struggling fruitlessly. "They're _firebenders!_ You have to believe me!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears as he was dragged away by the Dai Li. Once they were gone, Zuko saw Moro sigh deeply, as if she had been previously holding her breath.

She nudged the remains of the shattered teapot with her foot, looking apologetic. "Sorry about the teapot Gramps," she said, rubbing her arm where a bruise was starting to form from landing in the dirt.

Iroh took her hand and gave it a comforting pat, her crooked smile starting to come back.

"Think nothing of it my dear," he said before reaching into his apron pocket. "But do take this, it's a coupon for a free cup of tea, I hope this unfortunate event won't deter you from our company… I know my nephew loves having you around!"

Zuko growled, making an X with his arms and scowling, but Moro just laughed, her frightened and small demeanor gone as if it had never been there.

_Great._ He thought sarcastically. _She's back to normal…_

His uncle left to discuss some things with Pao, leaving the two teens alone. A beat of silence passed between them before Zuko felt his gut drop at the sight of Moro's catlike smirk. "Did you tackle that guy for _me_?" she teased.

He ground his teeth in irritation, fighting back against the heat he felt in his cheeks. "No… Shut up!" she giggled again, clearly not believing him. He crossed his arms and turned away from her, "Besides, I had it under control, I didn't _need_ your help!"

She scoffed, "Oh yeah, getting thrown through a wall is always a sign of victory." He whipped his head around to glare at her, only to see that annoying smirk still on her face.

Honestly, _why him?!_ Why did he always end up with weirdos and crazy people getting attached to him and following him around? He didn't even _know_ this girl, yet she was trailing behind him trying to be his friend like a hungry stray. _Annoying!_

But… she did help him out when she didn't have to. He probably would have gotten his head chopped off by that lunatic if she didn't charge in raising a table leg like an idiot. She could've gotten hurt! Then he probably would've _had _to firebend to protect her! How stupid was she?! _Stupid enough to run into a fight to help you_, he thought, a pout forming on his face.

Zuko groaned loudly, still not facing Moro but _feeling_ her teasing grin aimed at his back.

_"Thank you."_

"Hm?" she hummed. "Couldn't quite hear you…"

"I'm _not_ saying it again!"

He heard her snicker, then scowled as he felt her sling her arm over his shoulder and wink at him. "You're welcome! Guess this means we're even now, huh?"

Never in his life had someone annoyed Zuko so much, _maybe _Azula on a bad day, but never to this degree. He wanted to yell, firebend, _and_ smash his head through a wall whenever Moro was around. No matter how many times he told her to get lost, she'd just laugh and come right back. His uncle told him that's what friends do, but Zuko was _not_ interested in being anybody's _friend_.

Moro nudged him in the side before throwing up a peace-sign, "I'll see you later!" she said before running off again, Zuko watching her disappear down an alleyway with a frown.

His uncle appeared by his side, also watching her leave before he lightly nudged him with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning. "What?!" he barked, choosing to ignore how hot brightly he blushed.

"Nothing, nothing…" Iroh raised his hands and began to walk back to their apartment, smirking all the while.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but waited until his uncle was further ahead of him before glancing over his shoulder at where Moro disappeared to. He shook his head, _she's an irritating street-rat, nothing more_. He told himself, following his uncle and trying to banish the strange girl from his mind.

Neither Zuko, nor Iroh, noticed the remnants of smoke vanishing from the burnt handle of the broken teapot as they walked away.

* * *

**So the fight with Jet was a bit different this time around, but we got some cute chemistry between Zuko and Moro! He doesn't consider them friends yet, but he doesn't want to admit he likes her company either. Oh Zuko you emotionally constipated cutie you... anyway, enjoy! Ciao!**


	4. A Tale of Moro

**Chapter 4: A Tale of Moro**

A week had passed since the teashop incident, and as much as Moro apologized for the broken teapot, Old Man Mushi kept telling her to not worry about it, but that didn't stop her from buying them a really nice one from the Middle Ring market. It was pure porcelain and inlaid with silver paint, she bought it with some of the money she stole, and Mushi was ever thankful for the gift.

However, that still left her short a pretty penny, which was why she was scraping for change in the market with her pai-sho board again.

The burly man she was playing against was losing, _badly,_ and every move she made towards his defeat only deepened the scowl on his face.

Truth be told her mind was a million miles from the game in front of her, despite her obvious future victory; she still had no idea whether or not that crazy guy from the teashop was telling the truth about Mushi and Lee being firebenders. She wanted to trust them, but years of being afraid of others finding out about _her_ being a firebender had made her more than a little wary of others.

Moro placed her white lotus tile in the center of the board, revealing the lotus pattern she'd created. "I win. Maybe come back tomorrow and play again, then I can get even _more_ money when I beat you," she chuckled, counting the gold pieces she'd won.

The man growled loudly, grabbing the back of her head and slamming her face against the board, scattering the tiles all over the ground. "You cocky little brat!" he was yelling so loud it was attracting attention. "You cheated! I know you did, give me my money back!"

She growled; her cheek mushed against the board as the man's fist gripped hard at her hair. She quickly grabbed the money, clutching it tight in her fist and shoving a handful of mud from the ground into the man's eyes. He shouted, letting go of her to rub the filth from his face, and Moro ran, hanging on to her earned gold like her life depended on it.

"Hey! Get back here you _street rat_!"

His shouts went ignored, Moro already rounding a corner to escape his sight. She would have been home-free if she hadn't run smack into Lee, the two of them grunting as they hit the ground in a tangled heap.

She felt dazed, shaking her head to clear the fog to find herself on top of Lee. "Ugh… Moro?" he groaned, rubbing his head.

With no time to feel embarrassed, Moro grabbed his hand and hoisted him up, practically dragging him behind a grain cart. She pushed him against the cart while she peeked around the edge, watching the sore loser sniff around for a bit before getting frustrated and moving on.

Seeing that they were in the clear, she sighed with relief. "Sorry about that, that guy was a _really_ sore loser."

Lee fixed her with a glare, dusting off his robes and crossing his arms over his chest like he was about to scold her. "You really need to _stop _getting into trouble."

"Why? Are you _worried_ about me?" she teased, making that face she knew he hated. Where she arches her eyebrow and purses her lips, obviously teasing him. She felt her smirk turn into a grin when se saw him blush, scowling angrily to hide it, but blushing nonetheless.

"Shut up," he muttered, giving her shoulder a rough shove, but Moro just laughed, snickering into her hand as she followed Lee back to Pao's place, she could go for some of Old Man Mushi's tea after such a rough morning anyway.

It was actually a pretty standard morning; scam some fools out of their money, run from them when they try to take it back, and end up at Pao's to enjoy some tea and tease Lee.

Really, the only thing out of the ordinary, was her mother smiling, talking, and looking quite healthy, contently sipping tea with Old Man Mushi.

"Mom?" Esra looked up, her sea-green eyes brighter than Moro had seen them in months. "What're you doing out of bed?"

She rushed to her mother's side to make sure she was okay, but to her surprise, she seemed perfectly fine. Her cheeks were rosy instead of flushed and pale, her hair looked shinier, she even looked like she had some of her energy back! The woman Moro had put to bed last night and the one standing before her were like night and day.

Esra smiled, this smile genuinely happy instead of tired. "I was feeling a lot better today, and heard about Mushi's miraculous tea, I knew I had to try some."

Mushi refilled her cup after she'd drunk it down to the last drop, grinning ear to ear from the praise. "Your mother is a very lovely woman Moro, and she has excellent taste as well!" he said while Lee busied himself behind the counter. "I can see where you get it from,"

Moro nudged his shoulder, feeling her cheeks heat up "Gramps…"

Her mother giggled; a sound Moro hadn't heard for a long time. "Truthfully, she gets it from her father… Moro looks just like him sometimes," Esra smiled at her cup, a wistful look in her eyes, as though after so many years she was still incurably in love.

Her daughter scoffed, "You once told me he had a _beard_!"

Esra hid her laugh behind her hand, and Moro looked at her mother like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. It was rare she talked about her father _ever_ without becoming sad or scared, sad that the love of her life still hadn't come back, scared for her daughter who was a firebender just like him. To see her talk about him so freely with a smile on her face was a welcomed sight for Moro.

Maybe her mother really was getting better.

"I know exactly what you mean," Mushi added, "He may act tough, but I know my nephew is very kind, he's just like his mother…"

Mushi was quickly interrupted by Lee slamming his hands on the tea counter before storming out through the back, leaving the trio to stare after him.

Moro's head tilted curiously, "What the heck was that about?"

The old man cleared his throat, sighing sadly. "Forgive me, it is a sore subject… my nephew lost his mother when he was very young, I should not have brought it up so callously."

Her mother said something to the old man, but Moro wasn't listening. Without a word to either of them, she left the table and jogged off after the angry boy, leaving the adults to themselves.

Esra sighed, looking down at her hands regretfully. "That's terrible about your nephew's mother… Moro's never met her father, but she's far too much like him, and I worry for her so much." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and when she tried to hold them back, it only made them flow stronger down her cheeks. Esra bit her lip as she tried not to sob.

Mushi enveloped her trembling hands with his aged ones, looking at her with kind eyes full of understanding.

"As difficult as it is, sometimes the best thing we can do for our children is to let them follow their own paths, and be there for them when they need us."

She smiled, an exhaustion in her features that made her look older beyond her years. Not a day went by where she wasn't terrified for her daughter, but as she'd said, Moro was just like her father; spirited and stubborn. She was always more concerned with Esra's health than her own wellbeing, and trying so hard to hide it from her so she wouldn't worry, but Mrs. Linh had told her outright years ago. She knew she couldn't stop her from stealing, but she desperately wished her daughter could have a better life.

A better life where she wouldn't have to steal to survive or hide the gifts she'd been given.

But that could never be, not in Ba Sing Se.

* * *

Moro spotted Lee up on the roof, climbing up and shuffling over to sit beside him. He was watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon, the light shining in his golden eyes as the two sat in silence. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, drumming her fingers against the rooftop and trying to come up with something to say that would cheer him up.

"You know," she started, "My dad was a soldier, mom says he left before I was born… I don't think he even knows I exist."

She'd never told anyone that, but after the other night, when Lee tackled a guy swinging swords around to help her out, she felt like she could trust him… even just a little bit.

He didn't say anything for a long time, glaring at the sun as though it were taunting him. "Neither does mine." He finally replied bitterly.

Moro looked at him, the sunset casting a shadow across his face, and suddenly felt like they had a lot more in common than she originally thought. Sure she teased him and annoyed him on purpose, but she really didn't know anything about him, and vice versa. She did like him, and wanted to be his friend, mostly because she'd never really had any friends before, and as much as he denied it he _did_ stick his neck out for her more than once…

It was time for her to pay it forward.

"He sounds like a real jerk." She said, leaning back on her hands. "I mean you're kind of a bummer sometimes but still…"

"Do you _EVER_ stop talking?!"

Moro flinched, Lee standing up and yelling right in her face, his anger worse than she'd ever seen it before. His fists were clenched white and his teeth were ground together as fury burned in his eyes. She could only stare as he trembled with rage.

"I _don't_ need your pity, and we _are not_ friends!" he shouted, "Maybe it's easy for a _street rat_ like you to belong here, but I _hate_ this city! I _hate _working in a damn teashop, and I _hate you!_ When will you get it through your head that all I want is for you to _leave me alone!?"_

A stunned pause lingered between them, Moro blinking up at him in shock and Lee slowly deflating into tense annoyance, his fists still clenched tight as he refused to meet her eyes.

She suddenly became angry, standing up and getting in his face. "You think I belong _here?!_" she scoffed, too upset up to notice the look of surprise he had. "_Nobody_ in the Lower Ring belongs here! I don't, and neither should _you!_ I don't know if you've noticed but it _sucks_ here!"

Now it was Lee's turn to stare in shock; Moro was really fired up now because who did this guy even think he was? He clearly had no idea how hard people had to fight, scratch, and claw their way through mud and grime just to _survive_ in the walled city. Kids like Yuu, Mink, and Ashi were lucky to not have realized how unfair life was yet, thinking they were free to be friends when in reality people in the Upper Ring stuck up their noses and scoffed at the starving poverty of the Lower Ring every day.

If she didn't steal and learn to run away, she probably would have died a long time ago. Moro was only alive because Mrs. Linh took pity on the scrappy little girl and taught her how to pick pockets.

She was a nobody, a stray, and _street rat. _She steals and cheats and runs away… _nobody_ cared about people like her. People like her _didn't matter._

"You're not the only one trapped here Lee," she sighed, staring out at the sun. "I know if I took one step outside that wall… I wouldn't ever come back…"

Once when she was ten, Moro went to the edge of the city, the wall that separated Ba Sing Se from the rest of the world, and she thought about stepping outside. She saw farms in the distance covered in grass and crops, nothing but open skies from horizon to horizon… but knew she couldn't leave. Her mother needed her, what kind of daughter would she be if she just abandoned her?

Moro looked Lee in the eye, gold locked with yellow and blue, and for a moment it felt like they understood each other just a little bit better. Both of them victims of circumstance who had nowhere else in the world to go.

She laughed, breathless and tired, a sound so different from her usual teasing snicker, as she held out her hand for him to take. "You'd die of boredom if you belonged here anyway."

Lee sighed, but took her hand.

The two of them stood there, wrapped in red light from the setting sun with their hands joined, until Moro gave him a playful shove, giggling as he rubbed his shoulder. He scowled again, but this time with none of the annoyance or malice that was there before. "You know this doesn't make us friends; you're still annoying."

She just smiled, walking to the edge of the roof to climb down.

"Keep telling yourself that."

She jumped down, landing in a crouch like a hunting tigerdillo and bounding back inside the teashop, leaving Lee alone.

He turned, looking back at the sun as a smile grew on his face. He quickly caught himself and shook his head, schooling his features back into his unamused frown and following the odd-eyed girl back inside.

_He'd never had a friend before…_

* * *

**If Moro was a Disney character, who would she be? This chapter was meant to shed light on some of Moro's deeper personality traits. Yes, she's carefree and likes to tease Zuko, but she also feels shame in having to steal and wanting to leave. She knows if her mother wasn't sick she'd probably leave and never come back, but she has to stay to take care of Esra. This chapter was meant to depict a darker side of Moro's life that she doesn't talk about. She and Zuko will learn to trust each other with their dark secrets and become real friends in later chapters. This ship is a slow frickin burn y'all. Pun intended. See you next chapter for Tale of Zuko! Ciao!**


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